So I first must state that I am not the type of person to write reviews. This is the first review I have written on Tripadvisor. Everything I write is simply my honest opinion and my honest remembrance from my first personal first hand experience. I have stayed at The Inn at Riverbend for a total of 21 days since December of 2020. I am a physician and work at the local hospital on periodic assignments. The hospital reimburses me fully for my stay. I have not stayed there for pleasure as most who come to the inn do. Given all that, my review comes from a bit of a different and personal perspective, but I believe it may be one worth providing. First, the positive. The inn is clean. The beds are comfortable. There are free sodas and sometimes cookies put out, which only seems to be the case if there are other customers. Usually, I am alone because it's during the week. Given this, there are usually just sodas. The inn is quiet inside but I have never been there when there are anymore than 2 or 4 other individuals. Other reviews have complained of poorly insulated walls and hearing guests all night. I really can not speak to that and have not experienced that personally. The inn is located in a “neighborhood” of sorts with other large houses on large lots. The views are really pretty of the New River. The drive to the neighborhood is down a road that is much, much less nice than the neighborhood where the inn is located and frankly more middle to lower class in its presentation however indicative of typical small towns in Southwest, Virginia. If you were hosting a party at the inn for any reason, in my opinion, your guests may be less impressed with the drive into the neighborhood than they would be with the actual location of the event. Something to think about if you were to ever choose the inn as an event destination. The view however, when you get to the inn is worthy of being a hosting venue. Not sure what you could do about the mile or so drive through the much less bucolic neighborhood. The train at the bottom of the hill that goes along the New River is active and horn blows from the tracks are present. I have been woken at 330 AM by train horns. I literally wonder out loud why a conductor blows the horn at 330 AM but oh well. It's quaint and disclosed in there website, but it's real and if you are a light sleeper, likely less than optimal. Moving on to the negatives. First and foremost, its EXPENSIVE. I don’t even pay for my stay and I feel embarrassed submitting my bill to the hospital. My most recent stay was 175 a night and I am in the cheapest room and also get a hospital discount. I am not sure what you get for this money and feel that much of the charge is because there really is no other similar option close to Pearisburg. I have chosen to stay here because its close to the small community hospital I serve. In short, I feel like they charge their astronomical amounts because there really is no other close option. There is a not great motel in town that charges 60 dollars a night at present. On principal, moving forward, I will stay there for my assignments to this hospital. My reasoning may become more evident as I write further. So if you were paying so much, assuming you were not getting a “hospital discount” and not in the cheapest room, you would think that the service would be amazing and the hospitality would be over the top. Well in my opinion, it's really not. I have complained to John and Jeanne (the owners) that they are very inconsistent. Some mornings I get a hot breakfast and some mornings I get a cold breakfast of a muffin, yogurt, and the tinniest fruit bowel. When I do get a hot breakfast, its usually an incredibly small portion of a scrambled egg, a literal single piece of bacon or literal single link of sausage, and a dollop of fruit. Reading other reviews, there is a common theme that the portions are incredibly small. I would be really bummed if I was paying out of pocket. In short, their hospitality does not runneth over with regards to the size of the breakfast. What is served is ok, not amazing, but ok but that is just my opinion. John has explained to me that because of my hospital discount, that they can not afford to serve me a hot breakfast consistently however, I believe at 175 a night, they should and I would be served a hot breakfast if I were to stay at a conventional hotel for likely less money, like the Hampton Inn where I typically stay. This becomes increasingly insulting when I have been served a cold breakfast while customers who are paying the full rate get a hot breakfast while sitting in the same dining room. I find this discrepancy somewhat cheap and certainly petty. Next, when you come to the inn, be prepared for signs and rules. There are more signs around telling you to put your dirty utensils here, keep your door to the porch closed, wash mud off your shoes here, don’t put food in this fridge, put food in that fridge, bring food to the kitchen, and what not. I realize that they may have rules and a way of doing things but it all in all makes for a less than welcoming feeling. On my most recent stay, I sat down at a table that looked out over the river. No one else was at the table and the other 2 guests had not even gotten up yet. John told me to sit at the other table that was farther from the window. Not sure why, I guess they had a nicer room or something but it made me feel like a child and a second class citizen. This became even more apparent to me when I saw I was getting a cold breakfast of said muffin, yogurt and fruit and the other customers were getting a hot breakfast. I was reading the reviews and I literally laughed out loud that a patron had the same exact issue that I had. After a one week stay there, I returned home and received a phone call from Jeanne. She asked me why one of the white face washing towels was stained with red. I explained that I was eating strawberries in my room and used the towel to catch the juice. She seemed to be upset that I had stained the small wash cloth. She said that the wash cloth was permanently stained. I could not understand how the event warranted a phone call or that it was not covered in the 5 nights I had stayed there. Fortunately, she did not threaten to charge me $18 for the ruined towel as she apparently did another customer in their review. Also echoed in other reviews, I have never had my room cleaned while I have been there. My stays usually range between 4 and 5 nights and I can not recall my room ever being cleaned during my stay or fresh towels being provided. There is also this issue of the cancellation policy. On one occasion, the hospital inadvertently switched the schedule and needed me at another hospital. I explained to John and Jeanne that the schedule had been written incorrectly and I would not be staying there for the 3 nights I had reserved. They explained to me the cancellation policy and charged me for the full stay anyway. This was done in person. The inn appeared completely empty. The hospital reimbursed me so it wasn’t really any money out of my pocket however the whole incident made me feel like they just wanted their money. You kind of get that sense likewise when they run your card literally 5 days before you check in for the entire amount of your stay. This issue is echoed in multiple other reviews, so don’t for a second think you will not be charged if you are seeking to cancel less than 72 hours before your check in. Which leads me to my last point and is simply my opinion. The inn is fine, its the owners that are not great. They really should not be in the hospitality business and explains why they are seeking to sell the business.They over charge and under deliver and its been shown to me unfortunately in very innocuous and sometimes not so subtle ways. Be aware, this place is about the money and it does not go too much deeper than that in my humble opinion. I feel so strongly about this that I will choose to stay for future assignments at a cheaper motel in town even though my employer will reimburse me to stay at the Inn at Riverbend. It simply is not worth the exorbitant amount they charge in my opinion.…
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.